Since the grow-in at Cowan Creek, some of the greens have out-performed others under the stress they receive, and are generally easier to maintain. #6 green was a prime example of one of the greens that rarely had any problems in years past. However, when we came out of dormancy, it was a surprise to see that it was in the worst condition in relation to the other greens. We found out that in addition to the current problems we are facing on all our greens, #6 green wasn’t draining properly. There are two drainage outlets that leave this green, one in the low area on the left side of the green, the other in the front of the green. Both metal drainage basins are located in the green surround on the left side of the hole. Using a plumbing snake, a hose, and a wire locator, we found that there was a problem with the drainage pipe somewhere in between the exit of the green and the drainage basin. We dug it up, and here’s what we found:
The first problem we found was that the pipe had been crushed during or after installation. This is what we originally thought was the problem, so we dug this area up so we could replace the crushed pipe with new pipe.
After digging it up, we discovered 4 feet of crushed pipe which was completely filled with mud and rocks, and the upper end of the pipe was cut and exposed, not connected to anything.
We continued digging closer to the green to find that the pipe was cut in two places to allow room for an irrigation line. The picture below shows where the drainage pipe was cut on the high side of the drainage line, and the irrigation pipe running through where the drainage pipe should be:
With only one properly working drainage outlet, this issue could play a large role in having anaerobic conditions on this and other greens. We have fixed the drainage problem in this area, and we will continuously check other problem areas to see if cutting drainage pipe was a popular practice during course construction.
